Portable Raman systems are used in the field by a variety of personnel (e.g., military, civilian safety, homeland security, etc.) to identify or detect a material of interest. Portable Raman systems, however, are often limited by proximity to an object that is to be analyzed. Additionally, portable Raman systems are limited in sensitivity.
In an operation of a portable Raman system, a liquid or solid sample is acquired or formed and placed in a vial. The vial, in turn, is positioned relative to a laser of the portable Raman system, which directs laser light towards the sample in the vial. Summarily, a detector can detect backscattered radiation from the point of illumination of the laser, and features of the backscattered radiation are indicative of a type of molecule in the sample. Again, however, portable Raman systems are sometimes unable to perform all functions desired by an end user, due to the limitations of conventional Raman systems referenced above.